The Runt of the Litter
by LadycashUT
Summary: Parentless, 10 year old Raven is a master of theft and does what she needs to survive. 10 years later, she meets Octavia again, who was the only person who showed compassion for her despite her criminal ways growing up. An Octaven story along with Clexa as well (Clexa starts in Chapeter 5)
1. Chapter 1

Parentless, 10 year old Raven is a master of theft and does what she needs to survive. 10 years later, she meets Octavia again, who was the only person who showed compassion for her despite her criminal ways growing up.

"Stop that little runt!" yelled the store owner as 10 year old Raven ran out of the convenient store with a bag of cheetoes and a bottle of strawberry gatorade.

Raven ran as fast as she could toward the door. Out of nowhere, a tall security guard grabbed her roughly by the shoulders.

"Your little ass isn't going anywhere" the security guard said as his spit flew onto her face as he spoke. She shook Raven so hard that she dropped the chips and bottle.

Scared of getting in trouble, she kicked him in-between the legs. He dropped her as he winched as pain as he grabbed his groin area. Raven used this opportunity to bolt for the exit door without the bottle and chips. She was in such a hurry to leave, that she didn't see Octavia standing near the door. She ran directly into Octavia knocking her to the ground and making Octavia drop all the things in her grocery bag.

"Sorry" Raven said looking at Octavia. She recognized Octavia from somewhere but she had no time to remember where. Raven got up and ran out of the store.

"It's ok…" Octavia said. But by the time she said it, Raven was already gone.

"Octavia! Darling are you ok?!" Her mother asked lifting her off the ground.

"Yes, Mom. I'm fine" Octavia said still thinking about Raven. Octavia recognized her. She had seen her on the streets usually sitting in the alley with her dog. She was a beggar and usually asked people who passed by for money. Her clothes always looked worn out and her hair was usually untidy.

"This is the last time we're coming to this neighborhood store! I don't care how good the Cuban food is, we are done!" Octavia's mother said.

"Wait mom can I just grab a snack please?" Octavia pleaded. "I'm so hungry, I haven't eaten since tennis practice."

"Fine, hurry, this store is just not safe. This is no place for a 10 year old"

Octavia grabbed a bag of cheetoes and strawberry gaterade.

"You never eat cheetoes or gatorade. Why do you want that?" her mother asked.

"I just want to try something different. I heard they taste really good."

Octavias mom paid for the snacks and they headed out to the car.

Octavia looked to the left and saw the alleyway that Raven was usually at.

"Mom, I'm just going to run over there and throw something in the trash"

"Ok honey." Octavias mom was a bit distracted as she just received a phone called from her son Bellamy.

Octavia ran to the alleyway and put the food close to Ravens usual place and ran back to the car.

Raven was a bit further down from the alleyway since she was hiding from the store owner and security guard. However, she saw Octavia place a bag near her usual spot and she was curious as to what it was. She walked over and a huge smiled spread across her face when she saw what it was. She sat down and enjoyed her meal. It had been two days since she last eaten and this was her favorite snack. As she ate, she thought about the girl with the dark braided hair. It was the first time that anyone was nice to her in a long time.


	2. Chapter 2

Today was Octavia's 15th birthday and she wanted to celebrate at her favorite Cuban restaurant, Havana's, with her best friends Clarke, Finn, and Wells.

"Isn't that restaurant in a pretty rough neighborhood?" Finn asked. "Are you sure that's where you want to go?"

"Trust me Finn, it will be great" Octavia said smiling. "Plus, that neighborhood is so lively and full of culture! Sometimes, there's salsa bands and people dancing in streets. Chinatown is near there and they're always having great deals on cute purses and shoes!"

Octavia truly loved that neighborhood and she also just wanted to get away from home for a bit. She had been taking care of her brother Bellamy for the passed year since he has been in and out of the hospital. For once, she just wanted to focus on herself without worries for a few hours.

"Havana's is also near Vondel Street. It has tons of street vendors like painters and jewelry makers!" Clarke pitched in.

"Alrighty, well lets do this then birthday girl." Finn said with his hands raised motioning toward this car. Finn just turn 16 a few months ago and his parents bought him an old Toyota.

Octavia and her friends ordered a whole slew of food. They laughed and joked and reminisced on how they all used to have class together last year. Clarke then decided to a toast for her best friend.

"To the kindhearted goofball who always laughs at our jokes that are not even funny and manages to keep our amazing friendship together" Clarke said as she put an arm around Octavia's shoulder.

"Cheers!" everyone said in unison.

Finn then pulled out a wrapped gift from his backpack.

"Here, this is from all of us." Finn said.

Octavia opened her gift and saw that it was the new iPhone that she had been looking at.

"Awww you guys!" Octavia said emotionally. "I love you guys, this is such an awesome gift."

Her friends continued their hilarious conversation as they waited for to-go boxes. As they were talking, Octavia noticed a girl with dark hair and worn out clothes who was pickpocketing a man near the bus stop. As she pulled money out of the wallet, Octavia noticed that the girl only took a few dollars from his wallet even it looked like he had several 20's in his wallet. Without the man noticing, she slipped the wallet back into his pocket. She instantly knew that it was the same girl who she bought food for 5 years ago.

Once they all packed their to-go boxes, they headed out toward the street vendors. The boys went to check out the latest sneaker sales and Clarke drifted away to a woman who was selling purses. Octavia lingered over to the cell phone cases. She saw a black case with a beautiful dream catcher and flowers on it. It was also the type a case that acted as a wallet.

"How much?" She asked.

"Only $10" the vendor said.

Octavia pull out her wallet to get her debit card.

"Sorry cash only. We don't take cards" the vendor woman said.

Octavia searched her wallet and only managed to pull out $4.

"Here, I'll buy it for you" said a voice from behind her.

Raven handed the woman $10.

"You don't have to do that" Octavia said, turning around and recognizing Raven.

"Don't worry, its my treat" Raven said smiling and staring at Octavias eyes. "I remember what you did…. 5 years ago. This is a thanks"

"Well let me at least get your number so I can pay you back" Octavia said.

"It's ok, really. Plus I don't have a cell phone so it would be pretty hard to reach me." Raven explained a bit embarrassed.

Octavia was shocked to hear this. Everyone she knew had a cell phone.

"Well I just got a new phone today so why don't you just take my old one. I really don't need it." Octavia said taking her sim card out of her old phone.

"No, I cant…"

"I insist," Octavia said shoving the phone in Ravens hands. Despite Ravens hands looking rough, they were the most soft hands she had ever touched.

"Well…thanks" Raven said smiling. Once again, Octavia showed Raven a kind heart and she would have never thought that she would come across such a selfless person. "I can buy prepaid minutes at the dollar store I believe."

Eventually Octavia noticed that she was still holding Ravens hand and she quickly pulled away shyly.

"Well. See you around" Octavia said as she turned away.

"Wait" Raven said not wanting to see Octavia leave yet. "What's your name?"

"I'm Octavia"

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Raven"


	3. Chapter 3

About a month had passed since Octavia last saw Raven. "I wonder why she steals?" Raven thought to herself. "If I was to still something, I would just take the entire wallet. Why is she so selective in what she takes? Maybe she only takes just what she actually needs" Octavia thought.

"What are you thing about Octavia?" Clarke noticed that Octavia was distracted from studying.

"Have you ever met a really bad person that you should stay away from but in reality you wanted to get to know them more?" Octavia asked as she was confused as to why she wanted to get to know Raven more.

"How bad is bad?" Clarke asked.

"I guess like, thief bad. Not like grand theft auto or bank robberies or anything. But little stuff like food.

"Well that's tough. But stealing is still wrong no matter how small it is. And whose to say that stealing small stuff won't turn into stealing larger things later?" Clarke said trying to give her the best advice. "Who are you talking about by the way?"

"Did you see that girl I was talking to on my birthday? The one who helped me with my phone case?" Octavia asked

"That dirty looking street girl?" Clarke asked?

"Clarke don't be mean, she actually seems like a nice person."

Don't mean to burst your bubble Octavia, but those of the sort of people who you for sure have to stay a way from. You don't know what her real intensions were. If you hadn't have gave her that phone, she probably would have stool it from you anyways.

"Yeah… maybe you're right" Octavia said looking at Clarke with a forced smile.

Raven bought minutes for her new phone and headed back to the group home where she live. She shared a room with 3 other girls. 2 of them were hardly ever there since they were usually out partying or selling drugs in order to save money. Therefore Echo was the only one of her roommates she knew and she was also Ravens only friend. However she had not come back to the group home yet.

Raven surveyed her new phone. It was the first cell phone she ever had and she was still in disbelief on how she got it. No one had ever given her such a nice gift before, despite the fact that it was a hand-me-down phone. Usually people only gave her stuff wanting something in return or needing a favor. Just last week, one of her roommates give her $10 just so that she wouldn't rat on her about selling the drugs.

As she scrolled through the phone, she noticed that Octavia's contacts were still there. She noticed that one of the contacts said "Me" and Raven new that it was Octavia's number. She wanted so badly to text or call Octavia just to be able to speak with her again. She wanted to get to know her better but she didn't want to seem like a stocker or creepy. She also didn't want her to think that the only reason she was calling was to get more free things from her. She most certainly did not want to use or abuse Octavia.

After about a week or internal debating, Raven decided that it was a bad idea to contact Octavia. As she sat in the alleyway with the stray dog she fed every day, she open the phone and deleted Octavia's number.


	4. Chapter 4

Octavia was now a flourishing 20 year old business major. It was her 3rd year in college and she was glad she's attending the same college as Clarke who was an art & art history major

"Clarke we've been working so hard all semester." Octavia said look stressed while studying for her up coming finance class. "How about we gather up the gang and go camping this weekend. There's this nature reserve with horse back riding, kayaking, archery and canoeing."

"Okay O. Let's go after our exams on Friday. I'm all in." Clarke managed to say through her piles of books.

Friday evening, Octavia, Clarke, Wells, Finn and Bellamy packed up the car and prepared for their camping adventure.

"The only things we need now are the tents." Bellamy said, slamming the trunk of the car. "There's a camping supply store near Vondel Ave. Let's go check it out!"

"Are you sure that's everything?" Wells asked.

"Yep. Clothes, check! Cooking supplies, check! Fire starter, check! And most importantly, booze, check!" Bellamy exclaimed.

When the gang of friends at arrived at the camping supply store, Octavia noticed a gun range near by.

"I'm going to check out that gun range while you guys get the tents" Octavia said excitedly. "Maybe we can all go next month or something."

"I'm coming with you" Clarke said. "And guys please pick out a tent that's comfortable. I need proper beauty rest" Clarke joked.

"I'll see what we can do princess" Bellamy teased.

Clarke wrapped her arm around Octavia as they skipped over to the gun range.

"Octavia, I'm so sorry but your brother has grown into a little hottie."

"He really likes you Clarke. You should date him if you like. I trust you." Octavia said.

"I love your brother and all but honestly, just as a friend. I just don't get butterflies when I'm around him ya know?"

"Yeah, I get you." Octavia said. "Just don't string him along. If you do then I'll have to choose sides. A decision like that could kill me" she said smiling at Clarke.

Clarke opened the door and Octavia followed. Once they walked inside it was very loud from all the gunshots. They could see a group of 5 people lined up aiming toward their targets. While Clarke was checking out the prices, Octavia noticed one of the gun range instructors with dark hair and tanned skin. Something seemed very familiar about her even though she couldn't see her face. She also noticed that she wore a knee brace and walked with a limp. When she turned around, Octavia instantly knew who it was.

For a moment Octavia and Raven stared at each other blankly before simultaneously cracking smiles. Raven took off her headgear, step away from the shooters and walked toward Octavia.

"Raven." Octavia said "It's so good to see you. You look really good"

Raven still had a rough look about her but Octavia thought that it added to her beauty.

"Thanks" Raven said shyly. "I honestly thought I'd never see you again. You look just the same, just a tad bit older." Raven said unable to control her smile.

"I really can't believe it." Octavia said.

There was a slight pause. Both Octavia and Raven had so many things to say in her head but nothing came out.

"So, you work here?" Octavia finally asked.

"Yeah, I started working here about a year ago"

"Are you here to learn to shoot? I can be your instructor!" Raven said a bit too excitedly "If….if you want."

"We're here just to check out prices. But we definitely want to come soon." Octavia said.

"Awesome. Let me know when you want to come. I can teach you and hook you up with some good prices."

"How can I let you know? I still don't have your number." Octavia teased.

"Oh, oh right." Raven said chuckling

"Here, put your number in my phone and I'll text you so you have my number" Raven said.

Octavia grabbed the phone and noticed that was really old.

"Is this the same phone I gave you like 5 years ago? Octavia asked looking up at Raven smiling with both lips and eyes.

"Yeah, it is" Raven said a little embarrassed. "It works so well, there's no need for a new one just yet."

"That's amazing, I'm notorious for breaking phones after just 6 months of having it."

Octavia and Raven both laugh

"Octavia, lets go! Bells got the tent." Clarke said

"I'll see you around" Octavia said.

"Yeah, hope to see you soon." Raven replied.

Octavia and Clarke walked out the door.

"Who was that?" Clarke asked.

"Raven. The girl who got me that phone case"

"What?" Clarke asked look very confused.

"You remember. From my 15th birthday"

"How you remember small things like that, I will never know. You have one hell of a memory." Clarke said as they got in the car and drove to the campsite.


	5. Chapter 5

"We're here! Wooooh!" Octavia screamed with her arms reaching toward the sky, spinning in circles.

"Yeah!" yelled Finn as he fist pumped mid-jump.

It was about 7pm and the gang had just arrived at the nature preserve. Octavia and Finn went to the front desk to check in, while Bellamy, Clarke, and Wells checked out the maps and list of adventures to get into.

"We seriously have to do rock climbing" Wells said eagerly.

"C'mon Wells, that's a man thing, we wouldn't want you falling and breaking your arm." Bellamy joked, playfully but sternly punching Wells in the arm.

"Oh right." Wells laughed. "I see the perfect activity for you then. Basket weaving"

Both laughed

"But seriously dude, we have to do the white water rapid kayaking. It looks fun as shit…"

Bellamy and Wells drifted off in their conversation and Clarke was too distracted to join in. She noticed that Finn and Octavia were talking to a beautiful, tall, slender girl with dark hair and green eyes. Clarke walked closer to the front desk to see what they were talking about. She looked at the girls nametag and it said "Lexa."

"So here is where you guys can set up camp" Lexa said pointing at the map. "There is plenty of fire wood and I can show you exactly where it's at if you need. It can get confusing if it's your first time here."

"Sure." Finn said. "I'm sure we'll get lost sooner or later."

"Ok, let's go." Lexa said gesturing for everyone to follow her.

They all grabbed their stuff and walked with Lexa to the camp site.

"So how long have you been working here?" Clarke asked out of curiosity.

"Pretty much my whole life. My family owns this place." Lexa said smiling at Clarke.

"Wow, you're so lucky you live here. This place is beautiful." Clarke said looking at her surroundings

The nature reserve was huge and expanded over 15 miles. Clarke could see a waterfall in the distance as they followed the river to the campsite. They were surrounded by beautiful tall mountains with trees and flowers everywhere. The weather was perfect. It was a bit on the cooler side and the wind was slightly blowing.

"Here we are." Lexa said as she stopped walking. "There's water near that back tree. Feel free to use anything here."

"Thanks" Clarke said. "Do you want to stick around for a bit? We're about to start a camp fire and make smores."

"Clarke what are you doing?" Finn whispered out the conner of his mouth nudging Clarke in her arm. "We have booze. We might get in trouble"

"Yeah I'll stay for a bit. It's ok as long as I get to have a drink too." Lexa said overhearing Finn.

"Cool! Come on guys lets set up." Clarke said

As they were settling in. Octavia felt her phone vibrate and she looked down to saw she and a message from a number that was not save in her phone.

8:13pm: Hey, its Raven. This is my number

Octavia - 8:14pm: I'm locking you in as we speak

Raven - 8:15pm: It was really good seeing you again

Octavia paused for a minute thinking about how she was going to word her next text.

Octavia – 8:17pm: It's so weird. Even though I've only met you a few times in the past 10 years, I've never forgotten your face.

Raven – 8:18pm: I guess I do have a distinguished look

Octavia - 8:19pm: That's a good thing though. That means you're unforgettable.

Raven – 8:20pm: Aww thanks! Honestly, I haven't forgotten about you either. I knew exactly who you were when I saw you at the range.

Octavia – 8:20pm: Well here's to a new friendship

Raven – 8:21pm: :)

"Octavia! C'mon!" Clarke yelled motioning for her to come by the fire.

Wells passed her a drink. Octavia sat next to Finn who was sitting next to Lexa. On the other side of Lexa, was Clarke. Bellamy was on the other side of Octavia near Wells.

"Let's play truth or dare," Bellamy said

"I'll go first! Clarke, truth or dare?" Octavia said

"Hmm. Truth."

"Have you ever lied to your best friend?" Octavia said squinting her eyes at Clarke.

"C'mon Octavia!" Clarke said laughing

"You have to answer. You chose your faith" Octavia said smiling.

"Fine. Remember that time you asked me to buy you your favorite red velvet cupcake for the 4th of July and I told you that the store sold out of it? Clarke asked?

"Yeah"

"Well the store never ran out. The cupcake looked so good that I actually ate it on the way to bring it to you." Clarke confessed

"No way! I was so craving that cupcake!" Octavia yelled looking shocked.

"And I honestly don't regret it" Clarke laughed. "Ok my turn"

"Finn, truth or dare? Clarke asked

"Dare of course!" Finn said

"I dare you to take 3 shots of vodka within 30 secs." Clarke said

"You're on!" Finn yelled.

Bellamy poured the shots and handed them to Finn

"Ok everybody count down from 5" Finn said

"5, 4, 3, 2!" Everyone shouted in unison.

Before 1, Finn downed the shots within seconds apart. Everyone cheered as he took the shots like a champ. He almost became instantly drunk but he was still able to hold his ground.

"Lexa, truth or dare?" Finn asked.

"Dare" Lexa said

"I dare you to kiss Clarke." Finn slurred.

Lexa became instantly nervous. She looked over at the blonde hair, blue eyed beauty and saw that she was smiling. She seemed open for a kiss, which made Lexa even more nervous because she wanted to make it a good kiss. Lexa slowly leaned toward Clarke and put her hand on her arm. Their lips gently clashed and Clarke leaned more into the kiss, putting her hand on Lexas cheek. Lexa massaged Clarkes lips and Clarke gently nibbled on Lexa's bottom lip. The gang started cheering and Lexa slowly pulled way. Lexa stared in Clarkes eyes and Clarke did the same. It was an amazing kiss and both of them were a bit shaken at how the felt. The kiss only lasted a few seconds but it was exhilarating and both of their hearts were palpitating.

"Hellooo, Hellooo, Lexa"

Octavias voiced pulled Lexa from her thoughts and she quickly took her hand off of Clarkes arm.

"It's your turn now Lexa."


	6. Chapter 6

"Lets do something crazy" Clarke whispered in Lexa's ear as she grabbed her hands. The alcohol had gotten the best of her and she suddenly had the urge to do something spontaneous with Lexa.

"Ok, come with me" Lexa said pulling Clarke away from the campfire.

Clarke and Lexa were the only ones who were still awake as everyone else had fallen asleep around the fire.

Still holding hands, Lexa led Clarke up a narrow pathway going up-hill. Clarke almost slipped since the path was so narrow and it was so dark.

"Careful" Lexa said grabbing Clarkes waist before she fell. "Hop on my back, I'll carry you"

"No way, I'm too heavy, we're both going to fall." Clarke said leaning on Lexa.

"You don't know this path and it's easy to fall since you can't really see in the dark. Just hop on so you won't fall." Lexa insisted

Lexa got in front of Clarke, squatted slightly, and grabbed around both Clarkes thighs. Clarke wrapped her arms around Lexa's shoulders and jumped a bit to properly get on Lexa's back. Lexa carried Clarke with ease and continued up the hill.

"Where are we going?" Clarke asked, taking a whiff of Lexa's kiwi shampoo smelling hair. She loved the smell of Lexa's hair and buried her face into Lexa's neck.

"It's a surprise, silly" Lexa said with a smile. She could feel Clarke breathing and it sent goosebumps down her neck. She enjoyed Clarkes skin being so close to hers.

Eventually, Lexa made it all the way up the hill. Clarke looked around and noticed that they was at the top of the waterfall that she saw earlier. Lexa put Clarke down and held her hand again.

"This is fucking beautiful" Clarke said looking at her surroundings.

Impressed by the surroundings, Clarke put her arms around Lexa's neck and started making out with her. Drunken kiss or not, Clarke knew that she would remember it. It felt so right in the moment. Lexa wrapped her hands around Clarkes waits and pulled her in closer. The kiss was deep as the two massaged each others lips. Lexa slowing rubbed her hands up and down on Clarkes back as they kissed. Lexa then pulled away.

"Come on. Let's jump now" Lexa whispered.

"What!?" Clarked asked pulling her arms away from Lexa's neck.

"You said let's do something crazy." Lexa said. "Let's do it." Lexa reached out for Clarkes hand.

Clarke slowing put her hand in Lexa's and she look over the waterfall debating on whether or not to jump. Clarke knew how to swim but she was still afraid. The waterfall had to be at least 75 feet high.

"Do you trust me?" Lexa asked, staring in Clarkes eyes.

Even though Clarke just met her that day, she strangely trusted her.

"Yes" Clarke answered

"Then let's do it" Lexa said smiling. "3, 2, 1."

Hand in hand Clarke and Lexa both jump off the waterfall together. As they were free falling, Clarke and Lexa screamed at the top of their lungs. It was such an amazing rush and for a split millisecond Clarke glanced over at Lexa and Lexa did the same with the purest joy.

They both landed feet first into the water. Clarke came up first. As soon as Lexa's head emerged from the water, Clarke pulled her in for a kiss.

Octavia woke up from the combination of the crackling of the fire and playful screaming of girls in the distance. She noticed that Lexa and Clarke were gone and figured that the screams were coming from them. She got up and so them near the waterfall. She chuckled to herself because she noticed that they were flirting the whole night and figured that they would hook up at some point in time during the trip.

She wondered what time it was. She went back to the fire to check the time on her phone. It was 12:11am. She also noticed a text message from Raven from 11:05pm

Raven – 11:05pm: Quick random question. Would you wanna grab lunch some time?

Octavia smiled at the message.

Octavia – 12:12am: Of course. Wanna go sometime next week? Sorry it took so long to reply, I fell asleep

Raven – 12:13pm: No problem, I thought for a moment that you just didn't want to go

Octavia - 12:14pm: Of course not. I would have replied the moment it came if I was awake

Raven – 12:15pm: Awesome. I'll call you Sunday to figure out a time and day. I'll let you get back to what you were doing. Goodnight

Octavia – 12:16pm Goodnight


	7. Chapter 7

The weekend passed faster than anyone could have imagined. The weekend at the nature reserved was filled with laughter, adventures such as kayaking & rock climbing, and a new found friend in Lexa. Clarke exchanged numbers with Lexa and they all packed their bags in the car.

"Looks like you had the best weekend rendezvous out of all of us Clarke " Wells joked as they drove.

"Please let's not mention this ever again. What happened at the nature preserve, stays at the nature preserve." Clarke said pulling her sunglasses down and leaning her head back on the seat with a hangover.

"You mean you're not going to talk to her again?" Octavia asked.

"I doubt it, this was just a one-time thing," Clarke said.

"Alright," Octavia said not convinced, giving it away in her voice.

Lexa hung out with the gang for most of the weekend and in particular, she hung around Clarke.

"Look, you got a text from Lexa already." Octavia teased, passing Clarke her phone.

Clarke raised up her sunglasses to read.

Lexa – 1:51pm: I had so much fun with you this weekend Clarke. Thanks for a great time.

Clarke – 1:52pm: No problem. I had a lot of fun too

When Octavia got home, she hopped straight into the shower. When she got out, she looked on her phone and she had one missed call from Raven. She immediately called back.

"Octavia, hey! How was your weekend?" Raven said when she picked up the call.

"It was awesome. If you ever get a chance, you should so check out the nature preserve, its like 30 minutes from here." Octavia said

"Oh yeah. I heard about that place. Maybe I'll check it out one of these days." Raven replied.

"What about you? How was your weekend?" Octavia asked

"Nothing too crazy, I just ended up working all weekend," Raven said.

"Work? That's it?"

"Yep. Pretty much" Raven replied.

"Well, what are you doing today? Octavia asked. You gotta do something this weekend that doesn't involve work" she urged

"Well, I don't really have anything planned"

"Awesome, let's meet up today then….If you want to." Octavia said.

"Sure, let's do it," Raven said smiling into the phone.

"Do you want to grab sushi?" Octavia asked.

"I've never had sushi but I'll try it," Raven said.

"Oh, we can go somewhere else. What about Italian food?" replied Octavia

"No, I'm good with sushi. I'm feeling adventurous today."

"Ok, let's meet at 4? At Koizis?"

"Yeah sounds good, it's a date."

Octavia hung up the phone and went straight to her closet to pick out an outfit. After throwing several options on the floor, she decided on a white dress with pink, green, and yellow flowers on it. She blow dryed her hair, quickly ran a flat iron through it and decided to wear her hair down. She found her favorite peach lip gloss and put it on. She found sandels that matched her dress perfectly. She grabbed her purse and headed to her car.

Octavia got there before Raven and grabbed a table near the middle of the restaurant. She ordered a raspberry lemonade as she waited for Raven.

"Hey Octavia," Raven said smiling as she sat down.

"Raven, you look really good," Octavia said

Raven was wearing a pair of black ripped skinny jeans with a white v neck shirt. Her hair was in a high pony tail.

"Thanks" Raven blushed. "You look really good yourself."

For the first time, Raven noticed how green Octavias eyes were.

"So since this is your first time here, let me order for you," Octavia said

Octavia motioned for the waiter and he quickly came over.

"Can we have 2 Koizi rolls, a tempura roll, and a dancing crab roll?"

"Sure, coming right up" the waiter said.

"So tell me about your camping trip? What all did you do?" Raven asked curiously.

"We literally did everything. And of course, I was the best at everything" Octavia joked. "But I was the first one to reach the top of the rock climbing wall with only a few minor scratches."

Raven looked at the knuckles from Octavias hands.

"Are those your battle scars from the rock wall?" Raven asked

"Yep, I've earned them," Octavia said putting her hand under the table feeling embarrassed.

"Now your hands have character," Raven said noticing that Octavia was embarrassed. "You're lucky, I only talk to people who like to get their hands dirty."

"Oh really" Octavia laughed

"Clean, dainty hands are a no-go for me" Raven teased.

Since Octavia had a leg brace on, her leg stuck out a bit from under the table. The waiter walking toward them with the drink that Octavia ordered earlier. As he was about to put the drink on the table, he tripped over Raven's leg brace and accidentally dropped the entire drink all over Octavia.

"Oh my gosh!" Octavia screamed. "It's so cold!" Octavia wiped her face with her hand as the drink was all over her face and clothes.

"I'm sooo sorry!" Raven screamed. "It's all my fault, he slipped on my leg brace." Raven grabbed a hand full of napkins and started wiping Octavia's clothes.

"No, no Madam! I sincerely apologize! Please let me grab a mop!" the waiter said. He ran to the kitchens to get the mop and quickly came back.

"I really didn't mean for this to happen!" Raven said hastily trying to clean of Octavia.

"Hey. It's ok. It's just a drink is all. It will dry in no time" Octavia said immediately. "Don't worry about it at all."

Shortly afterwards, the food came and the waiter announced that the food was on the house.

"So, what happened?" Octavia asked during their conversation. "I don't remember you having a leg brace when you were younger."

"Oh, well umm, about 2 years ago, I slipped at the top of the stairs of my apartment and fell all they way down. My leg broke in 4 places and this is the best they could do to fix it" Raven said. "So basically, I pretty much just slipped on my own two feet" Raven chuckled trying to take away the awkwardness that she felt.

"I'm so sorry to hear that" Octavia said sadly, regretting that she asked. "But you honestly have swagger in that brace. You make it look pretty badass."

"Thanks," Raven said. "It took me a long time to feel comfortable with it but it feels like it's a part of me now. I really want to open up some sort of fundraising organization to help children who are physically disabled. It's really tough when you don't have very much support."

"Wow that's awesome and so sweet," Octavia said impressed. "If you ever need help with that, let me know"

"Thanks, I'll be sure to let you know" Raven thankfully said. "So, I don't want to sound like a creeper, but I noticed that you've been to Havana's before. Do you like Cuban food?"

"Of course! I love it, Havana's is actually one of my favorite restaurants." Octavia said.

"You should let me cook for you one day. I can make any dish served at Havana's 10 times better. I'm originally from Cuba." Raven explained.

"I knew you were an exotic Latina." Octavia smiled. "Im actually in love with cuban culture. I love hearing salsa and Spanish music. Do you know Spanish?

"Sí Seńorita," Raven said

Octavia found it really sexy that Raven new another language.

"There's a Cuban festival coming up soon. Wanna come?" Raven asked

Octavia excitedly agreed and the two continued their conversation as they ate. Since this was Ravens first experience with sushi, she was unfamiliar with some of the ingredients. She grabbed a large piece of wasabi and spread it all over a piece of sushi and ate it.

Raven immediately started coughing uncontrollably and her eyes watered.

"Fuck! Raven! Are you choking?"

Octavia quickly got up from her chair and sat next to Raven patting her back and helping her to drink water. Raven was starting to feel extremely nauseated. All of a sudden, her body reacted and she puked in Octavia's lap. Octavia froze in her seat not knowing what to do.

"I'm so sorry!" Raven said woozily as she slowly raised her head. "Raven grabbed a napkin, and wiped the puke that was sitting in Octavias lap. Unfortunately, she wiped the puke right onto Octavias feet.

Raven had never felt so embarrassed in her life. She wanted to just run out of the restaurant and hide under a rock.

"I think its' time to go," Octavia said as she got up and headed toward the door trying not to slip on the slippery mess.

When they got outside Octavias luck went from bad to worse. Her left front tire was completely flat.

"I can drive you home Octavia," Raven said. "We can worry about the flat car tomorrow."

"No, I'll just call Clarke. She lives nearby. I don't want to get your car dirty." Octavia said. She quickly sent Clarke a text to come pick her up.

"It's my fault you're dirty in the first place. Please…"

"No, trust me, Clarkes car is already dirty as it is. It won't even make a difference in her car."

Within minutes, Clarke had arrived. Raven and Octavia said their goodbyes after Raven apologized a million times.

On the car ride home, Octavia explained to Clarke everything that happened.

"So was this a date?" Clarke asked

"Yeah, I think it was" Octavia replied.

"Wow. First, the waiter drops an entire raspberry lemonade on you, you get puked on, your dress is totally ruined, and to top it all off, you got a flat tire. That must have been the absolute worst date you have ever experienced."

"Yep," Octavia said

"Guess you'll never see her again. I'm sorry my friend. There's plenty of fish in the sea" Clarke said.

Octavia turned her head toward Clarke looking extremely confused.

"What are you talking about Clarke? She's ambitious, very giving, adventurous and not to mention gorgeous." Octavia said. "I'm going to marry that girl one day."

The brightest smile came across Octavias face. For all she could think about was how alive Raven made her feel and when would be the next time she would see her again.


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning, Raven woke up in her bed not wanting to move. She buried her head in her blankets contemplating on whether or not she wanted to call in sick from work. "Why is this my life?" She thought to herself as she pounded her head in her pillow.

Knowing that she really needed the money, Raven got out of bed and started getting dressed for work. When she looked at herself in the mirror in the bathroom she murmured "You idiot," annoyed at herself.

Soon she heard a knock on the door.

"Raven! Aren't you going to be late for work?" Echo shouted through the door.

"Yeah, I'm coming," Raven said.

Echo open the door to her roommates room and sat on her bed.

"You look terrible," Echo said. "What happen yesterday?"

"I officially caused the worst date in the history of all first dates."

Raven explained everything that happened last night and Echo laugh hysterically the entire time.

"Aww, Raven it's ok. Imagine telling this story to your children 20 years from now."

Echo said pulling Raven into a hug.

"I don't even know how I'm going to even get through this day, yet alone 20 years from now" Raven confessed.

"So, when are you going to see her again?" Echo asked.

"Are you serious? Probably never! I'm like 100% positive that she hates me." Raven said grabbing her things getting ready to head out the door. "I'll see you later Echo."

"It doesn't sound like she hates you from the way you told me how it happened…" Echo yelled after Raven. But Raven had already left and shut the door in a rush since she was late to work.

Raven managed to get through a majority of her day without thinking about what happened yesterday since the gun range was so busy today. But during those few minutes of spare time, it was all she could think about. 5pm had rolled around and it was almost time for Ravens shift to be over. Raven started placing guns back on the rack.

"Hey Raven."

Raven turned to the familiar voice and Octavia was standing at the door. She had on a blue dress and her hair was down.

"Octavia, hi. What are you doing here?" Raven asked turning red.

"I just got out of class and figured I'd come over. I wanted to check to see if you are feeling better. You felt pretty nauseous last night," Octavia said

"Oh. I'm ok. I learned my lesson," Raven laughed nervously. "Stay away from the wasabi."

"Sorry, I should have told you how hot it was. It's my fault, really," Octavia laughed. "Here, I brought you some soup and Pepto Bismol. It usually does the trick for me when I don't feel well"

"Thank you, Octavia. You're such a sweetheart" Raven said still red in the face.

"So what day is the Cuban festival again?" Octavia asked.

"It's next weekend actually," Raven replied rubbing her neck.

"What time are we going?" Octavia asked

"Uh? Wait, you mean you still want to go? With me?" Raven asked very surprised.

"Of course! I can't think of anyone else better to go with." Octavia said smiling stepping closer to Raven.

"Ok cool," Raven said returning the smile. "Do you want to go at around 11am."

"Sounds great," Octavia said enthusiastically. She leaned over and kissed Raven on the cheek.

Ravens eyes grew really big as this was so unexpected. She could feel the heat forming from her neck and moving up her face.

"See you later, I have to head back to school to finish homework," Octavia said

"Ok, I'll call you," Raven managed to say.

When Octavia left, Raven place her hand on the cheek that Octavia kissed. After a few seconds, she did and fist pumped in the air and broke out in a cute little dance.


	9. Chapter 9

Raven received a text at 1am that woke her from her sleep.

Unknown – 1am: 3728 Huethe Ave, 3rd floor. #33. Three diamond rings in safe.

Raven immediately got up and put on her black jeans, black shoes, and a dark blue shirt. She grabbed her gun from the top of her closet and put in the back of her pants. She then grabbed her backpack and headed to the address that was given to her.

When Raven arrived, she surveyed the area to ensure no one was watching. She saw a single camera in the front door of the building. She carefully parked her car just out of reach of the camera. She walked toward the back of the building. She let herself in and took the stairs to the 3rd floor. The stairs were safer than the elevator because you can always peak through the door first.

Raven arrived at room 33 and took out 2 from her backpack and picked the lock. She slowly opened the door and entered the apartment that the completely dark. She let her eyes adjust and then surveyed the apartment for a safe. She noticed a giant painting in the kitchen. She took it off the wall and there was the safe. She took out a listening tool from her backpack and used it to crack the code of the lock. Once it was opened, she saw that the safe was filled with at least $50,000, a couple of guns, a few knives, and 3 diamond rings. She grabbed the rings, shut the safe, and placed the painting back on the wall.

She walked back to the front door and looked out the peephole. She noticed that there was an overnight maintenance worker fixing the light bulbs in the hallway. The front door was no longer an option. Raven walked to the window, opened it ,and looked down. There was no one around so she swiftly climbed out the window. She was very quiet and nimble despite her leg brace. She closed the window behind her and tip-toed over to the water drain pipe. She swung her leg over the pipe and grabbed it with both her hands and speedily slid down the pipe. Before she landed to the ground, her arm got caught on one of the air-condition units of the apartments. It scratched her arm pretty deeply but she didn't make a sound in fear of getting caught.

Once she got back to her car, she drove to a nearby abandoned building. She walked to the front door and tapped it using serious of knocks. The mail slip opened and she handed the person on the other side the rings. After a few seconds, the person on the other side of the door slid $200 through the mail slip. Without saying a word, Raven walked back to her car and drove home.

As she drove home, she received another text.

Octavia – 1:45am: Hey Raven. I hope I'm not waking you up from sleep. I just wanted to say goodnight and hope you have a restful sleep.

Raven – 1:46am: Hey, you didn't wake me. I was up just cleaning the house a bit. Goodnight.

Raven felt really guilty but knew that this is what she had to do to survive.


	10. Chapter 10

Saturday rolled around and Octavia woke up excitedly. Raven made plans to pick up Octavia from her apartment and drive to the festival from there. Octavia and Raven talked or text every day the entire week since they saw each other at the gun range. Throughout the week, Raven learned how dedicated Octavia was to school since the only times she was able to talk to her was in the evenings when she didn't have class or early in the morning before class started. She admired Octavia for working so hard on her studies. However, Octavia often times pulled herself from her studying to talk to Raven. It was always worth it because she felt like she could talk to Raven about almost anything.

As Octavia got dressed, she thought about how Raven told her that the only place she ever showed up on time was to work and that she was notorious for always being late anywhere else. Therefore, she figured she had a few extra minutes to get ready. This gave her time to look perfect.

As Raven got ready, she decided to wear her hair down instead of the usual ponytail. She wanted to look really special today and was nervous about seeing Octavia since the gun range. She discovered that Octavia was a bit more outspoken than herself and she practice in her mind what she would say to Octavia as they were at the festival. As Raven was gussying up, she looked at the clock and saw that she was already 10 minutes late for picking up Octavia. She grabbed her keys and headed out the door.

When she arrived Octavias apartment, she gave her a call to let her know she was outside. Octavia merged from her apartment a few seconds later and walk towards the car. Raven noticed that she was wearing a knee length light yellow dress with buttons down the front. Her hair was down in slightly curled and she had on gorgeous red lipstick. She looks beautiful Raven thought to herself.

Octavia opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat. As soon as she sat down, Raven could smell the sweet fruity perfume that Octavia wore.

"Hey Raven," Octavia said happily. "Oh my God, I absolutely love this song!"

On the speakers in her car, Raven was playing Wanderlust by the Weeknd.

"Is this the remix from Majestic Casual?" Octavia asked as she turned up the volume.

"Yeah, it is," Raven replied. "I'm surprised you know about this song, not very many people do."

"Oh I love the majestic casual channel on YouTube," Octavia said dancing to the song in the car.

As Raven drove off, her and Octavia sang and danced in the car to the song playing. When the song was over, Octavia turned down the speakers for a bit to ask Raven a question.

"So what are the types of music do you like?" Octavia asked curiously.

"I love reggaeton, hip hop, r&b, electronic, and pop." Raven replied.

"What is reggaeton," Octavia asked.

"It's a type of Spanish music," Raven answered. "Pass my phone and I'll play a song for you."

Raven scrolled through her phone and started playing the song Sunset, by Nicky Jam & Farruko.

"Oh, I actually really like this," Octavia said as she moved her body to the song.

After about halfway through the song, Raven turned back down the stereo and asked Octavia the same question.

"So what about you, Octavia? What types of music do you listen to?"

"I like some of the same things you like. Pop, electric, hip-hop , but I also love country music" Octavia stressed smiling.

"Eww country music? How could you, do this to me Octavia?" Raven teased.

"Trust me, by the end of this month I'm going to have you hooked on country music," Octavia promised

"Oh I'd like to see you try," Raven laughed. "There's no way in a million years you'll get me to like country"

"Oh, we'll definitely see about that," Octavia smiled.

Soon they finally arrived and both girls got out of the car. When Raven got out of the car this was Octavias chance to get a full view of her. She noticed that Ravens hair was down and it lay beautifully. She wore a loose shirt that had the Cuban colors and it was tucked into her circle skirt, which was black. A perfect ensemble.

Octavia and Raven walked toward the entrance of the festival. As they walked in, it was already packed with tons of people everywhere. In the middle of the festival were tents lined with many local and international food vendors. The vendors passed out samples of their authentic Cuban food. They both could smell the delicious aroma of spices infused with Spanish, Caribbean, and African flavors. They tried a variety of food such as Arroz con pollo, boliche, empanadas, and patatas fritas.

Around the perimeter of the festival was the parade. Raven grabbed Octavias hand and walked quickly to find a spot to watch the parade. Octavia found a single empty chair and sat in it. She then motioned for Raven to sit in her lap. When Raven sat down, Octavia wrapped her arms around her waist. Raven then place her arms on Octavias. The parade was full of colorful floats with many people waving the flag of Cuba. They threw candy, beads, and other goodies out into the crowd as the children ran to catch them. Raven managed to catch a couple of mini Cuban flags connected to a stick and gave one to Octavia. They both cheered and waved us the band marched down the parade and blasted Spanish music. They watched dancers of the parade as they shook their hips to the upbeat music.

After the parade, Raven and Octavia headed over to the left side of the festival where there were bands playing and people dancing on the designated dance floors. There were several stages set up for the different artists. Some of the artist who were playing included Yankee daddy, Timbalive, and Albita. They also had a stage dedicated to the music of Celia Cruz.

"Octavia! I love this song!" Raven shrieked. "Dance with me!"

Raven grabbed Octavias hands and pulled her to the dance floor.

"But I don't know how to dance," Octavia claimed.

"Yeah right," Raven said sarcastically. "I just saw you dancing in the car."

"But I don't know how to dance to salsa." Octavia revealed.

"Then I'll teach you," Raven offered "Just follow my lead."

Raven put one hand on her waist and the other hand held Octavia's hand. Octavia placed her free hand on the Ravens shoulder. Raven was actually a really great dancer and She did not let her leg brace tear her from freely moving her hips and body. Octavia really admired her for this. Since Raven was an astounding dancer, it was easy for Octavia to follow her lead. The dancing was very light and fun as Raven spun her and circles.

"You're getting the hang of it," Raven giggled.

Octavia and Raven danced for about four songs. Eventually, Raven needed to take a break because of her leg brace, so then they headed to the right side of the festival near at the carnival. As they stood in line to get on the ferris wheel, they held hands. As they were standing in line, Octavia noticed the scar on Ravens arm. It was the scar that Raven got from sliding down the drains of the apartment the previous week.

"What happened here?" Octavia asked concerned.

"Oh, it's nothing. I just bumped myself is all." Raven said trying to brush it off and change the subject.

"It doesn't look like nothing," Octavia replied, getting a closer look. "How exactly did this happen?"

"Uhhh, I..." Raven was at a loss for words and was trying to think of something quick. "At the gun range, I was placing a few guns on the top shelf and the shelf actually collapsed and fell on top of my arm. When it fell, it banged up my arm pretty badly."

"Aww I'm sorry Raven," Octavia said sweetly. "Why didn't you tell me? I could've been your nurse for the day."

"Well, I didn't want to bother you," Raven lied. "I knew that you were very busy with school this past week."

"No Rae, it wouldn't have bothered me," Octavia said comforting Raven. "You should tell me things like this ok? It won't bother me at all."

"Ok, I'm sorry Octavia," Raven said feeling extremely guilty for lying.

She wanted to tell Octavia the truth but she was afraid that if she knew, Octavia wouldn't see her the same. She was afraid that Octavia wouldn't want to talk to her or see her again. She loved being around Octavia and she didn't want it to end.

Octavia pulled Raven into a hug. "You can always tell me anything Raven. I'm here for you."

It was Raven and Octavias turn to get on the ferris wheel. When they sat down Octavia scooted closer to Raven and Raven put her arm around Octavias shoulders. As the ferris wheel rolled up, they were able to see the entire city. It was such a beautiful sight. But it wasn't as beautiful as the girl sitting next to her, Raven thought to herself.

She contemplated on whether or not she should tell Octavia the truth. She trusted Octavia and felt that maybe she should be open with her about everything.

As Raven stared at Octavia, Octavia turned her had and stare back. Raven looked at the most stunning green eyes she had ever seen. Octavia smiled and Raven looked down shyly. Octavia lifted her chin and bought her head closer the Ravens. She could feel her breath.

Octavia pressed her lips against Raven to seal their first kiss. It was very soft and gentle as Raven could feel her body melt.

In that moment, time stopped. There was nothing else that mattered in the world. There was nothing more important to either of them, then that kiss.


	11. Chapter 11

"You've been talking about her all day," Clarke complained to Octavia. "You know there's more to life than just Raven, right?"

"You just don't understand Clarke," Octavia said dreamy eyed. "I feel so good when I'm around her. She gives me butterflies but at the same time I feel so comfortable around her."

"Well, I'm glad you've been having fun," Clarke smiled as she unlocked the door to her dorm room.

"I so want you to meet her," Octavia said following Clarke into her room. "How about this weekend? Let's go out or something."

"So I can be the 3rd wheel?" Clarke asked. "Hell no!"

"You won't be the 3rd wheel," Octavia claimed. "And even if you do feel like you will, why don't you bring Lexa along?"

"No, she was just a one-time thing?" Clarke said looking at her phone as she was replying to Lexas text.

"Bullshit," Octavia grinned. "I see you texting her all the time. You're freaking texting her as we speak!"

"Ok fine," Clarke groaned. "I'll ask her. But what are we going to do?"

"Hmmm, how about we go to the beach at night and have a little beach party," Octavia answered.

"That actually sounds like a cool idea," Clarke admitted. "Alright, let's do it."

"Awesome, I'll invite the guys and few other people," Octavia said happily. "So what exactly is going on with you and Lexa?"

"It's nothing serious, we've just been talking," Clarke answered.

"I keep forgetting to ask you. Did you end up having sex with Lexa in the woods that night?" Octavia questioned.

"Who do you think I am? Some kind of slut?" Clarke said jokingly. "No, we didn't have sex. I would have told you if we did."

"Hey, some people move faster than others and that's a-okay with me." Octavia laughed.

"I'm not that fast you freak," Clarke smiled throwing a pillow at Octavia

* * *

When Raven arrived at the beach close to 9pm, Octavia was already there with most of her friends. When she walked toward the area where everyone was, she saw the bonfire and several people around it roasting marshmallows and drinking beer. There was another small group of people hanging around the kegs as someone was doing a keg-stand. Soon, Raven noticed that Octavia was standing next to a girl with blonde hair, close to the fire. As she walked toward Octavia, she saw that she was wearing a black bikini top and blue jean shorts that fit her perfectly.

"Hey," Raven said grabbing her hand from behind.

"Raven, you're finally here!" Octavia said turning her head to face Raven. "This is my best friend Clarke. Clarke this is Raven."

"Hey, nice to meet you," Raven said extending her hand. "I feel like I know you already. Octavia has told me a lot about you."

"She better have only told you the good things," Clarke laughed. "C'mon, do you want a drink?"

"Yeah, what cha got?" Raven asked.

"For you my friend, I will make you something special." Clarke offered. "I would like to introduce you my little friend tequila."

"Oh we're quite acquainted," Raven giggled. "So I've learned that the best thing to mix tequila with…."

Raven and Clarke drifted off to the coolers of alcohol and Octavia couldn't help but smile as her best friend and her potential future girlfriend hit it off. She watched as she noticed that Raven was wearing a burgundy bikini top with black shorts.

"Octavia?"

"Lexa! Hey! It's been forever since I've seen you!" Octavia pulled Lexa in for a hug.

"Yeah, I'm so glad Clarke invited me. You guys are so much fun." Lexa said coolly. "Have you seen Clarke by the way?"

"Yeah, follow me, she's over here by the coolers," Octavia explained.

Lexa and Octavia joined Clarke and Raven by the coolers. They all talked for a bit and enjoyed a couple of drinks together.

As the night when on, the party grew bigger and bigger. What was originally 20 people turned into about 70 people. Someone bought music speakers and everyone was dancing in the sand. As Octavia and Raven danced together, Octavia wrapped her arms around Ravens neck and began to grind her hips into Ravens. Raven wrapped her arms around Octavias waist and they both moved to the rhythm of the music.

Raven leaned forward and kissed Octavia sweetly as they danced.

By 11pm, the party became really rowdy but apparently, it was the place to be since people kept showing up. A couple of guests showed up with weed and were smoking. When Octavia and Raven took a break from dancing, Raven grabbed one of the blunts and took a couple of puffs. Octavia was surprised by this and didn't know that Raven smoked weed. However, she liked that Raven lived on the wilder side and was sort of a bad girl with a big heart.

"Here," Raven said passing the blunt to Octavia.

"I've never smoked before," Octavia said in Ravens ear.

"Oh I'm sorry." Raven said taking the blunt from Octavia. "I'll pass it to the next person."

"No, wait," Octavia said grabbing Ravens wrist. "I want to try it."

"Are you sure?" Raven asked looking deeply in Octavias eyes.

"Yeah," Octavia said surely. "I trust you."

"Ok, I'll teach you."

Raven passed the blunt back to Octavia and grabbed her free hand. They walked a few yards away from the party, closer to the water. Raven sat in the sand facing the ocean and motioned for Octavia to sit between her legs. Octavia sat down and Raven wrapped her arms around her waist.

"When you inhale the smoke, breathe in slowly and deeply," Raven whispered in Octavias ear.

Octavia followed instructions but began to cough since it was her first time.

"Are you ok?" Raven asked placing a hand on Octavias chest. "Here, drink this." Raven passed her a cup of juice.

Octavia soothe her throat with the juice and laughed.

"I suck at this," Octavia chuckled.

"No, it's just your first time," Raven explained. "Try it again."

Octavia breathe in a bit more slowly this time and was able to inhale without coughing. Raven continued to instruct her and Octavia eventually got the hang of it.

"Do you remember that day in the grocery store when we were 10?" Octavia asked passing the blunt back to Raven.

"Yeah, the good ole days. I remember." Raven replied.

"Why were you stealing that food?" Octavia asked. "Couldn't you have just asked your parents for the money?"

"Well, my dad had passed away that year," Raven explained. "He was the only family I had here in the states. Everyone else was back in Cuba. So I really didn't have anyone to care for me at the time."

"Raven, I'm so sorry," Octavia said looking back at Raven apologetically.

"It's ok. It happened such a long time ago," Raven said. "Living on my own really helped me learn to be grateful for everything I have."

"Is your mom still in Cuba?" Octavia asked.

"Yes. But she wasn't really much of a mother to me," Raven said. "Her and my dad divorced when I was 5 and she married another guy. She ended up having 3 kids by her new husband and ended up mostly taking care of them when my parents split. We pretty much stopped talking once me and my dad moved here."

"Do you ever talk to your half-brothers and sisters?" Octavia asked.

"Yes actually. I love them so much. We talk about once or twice a week over skype." Raven replied. "Half of the money I make, I send it back to them in Cuba because I know they really need it."

"That's, so sweet of you, Raven. You're such a caring person"

"I'd do anything for the people I love," Raven said snuggling closer to Octavia.

The two lovebirds continued to talk as they finished the blunt. The conversation went from the first time either of them kissed a girl to where they wanted to travel for vacation once they got a bit older. The weed also began to hit both of them. Octavia felt as though her sense of touch had heightened. The wind felt great against her legs and toes. Ravens touch gave her chills. Octavia, leaned back against Raven and turned her head for a kiss. The kiss was chaste at first but then Raven deepened it. Octavia tongue slowly danced with Ravens. As they kissed, Octavia grabbed Ravens hand and guided it over her shorts. Raven began to rub Octavias heated core through her shorts and Octavia let out a moan. Raven could feel moisture through Octavias shorts as she rubbed. Raven could feel her own juices flowing and wanted so badly to unzip Octavias shorts to feel her. However, Raven didn't want to overstep her boundaries and plus there was still a party going on behind them. Octavia give one last moan before breaking the kiss to turn and face Raven.

"Rae, I really have to ask you something," Octavia said grabbing Ravens hands. "I don't want to go another day without calling you my girlfriend. So... I was wondering…"

"Yes," Raven replied smiling before Octavia could finish her question. "Yes baby, I'll be your girlfriend."

Octavia leaned forward and Raven smiled into the kiss.

Suddenly, Ravens phone rang from a text message. She looked down at the time on her phone and it said 2:08am and she opened up the text message .

Unknown – 2:08am: 8937 Standon Ln, Building 6, 1st floor #107. $6000 in mattress

"Baby I…I really have to go. It's… It's getting late," Raven said standing up.

"Now? Already?" Octavia asked not ready to part with Raven.

"Yeah, the time went by so quickly. I really have to get some sleep for work tomorrow," Raven lied.

"Oh. Ok well let me walk you to your car babe," Octavia offered.

"No, it's ok. Really," Raven said hastily. "I'll call you tomorrow ok?"

"Ok, text me when you get home….."

But Raven didn't hear her say that as she quickly power walked to her car. As Octavia stood there watching her girlfriend walk away, she couldn't help but to feel sad. The night ended too soon and now Octavia questioned whether or not Raven really wanted to be her girlfriend.


	12. Chapter 12

"There is something about her that is so familiar," Lexa said as Raven walked off as her and Clark were cuddling by the fire. "I know her from somewhere but I just don't know where."

"Maybe you guys went to the same high school," Clark said.

"Possibly," Lexa replied. "But anyways, I want to thank you for inviting me tonight. I've really missed you."

Clark put her head on Lexas shoulder as they snuggled together by the fire, wrapped in a large blanket.

"Really?" Clark asked. "I was actually scared to invite you because I really didn't know how you felt about me and that night."

"Clarke, we've been texting almost every day since you left the nature reserve. I don't just text anybody you know." Lexa said with a smile.

"Good. I thought you were just texting me back just because it was something to do. To pass the time."

Before Clark started her next sentence, she noticed Octavia walking back toward the fire with a sad look on her face with her hands in her pockets. She was pretty much just kicking sand as she walked and looked a bit defeated.

"Hey I'm going to go talk to Octavia for a minute. I think something's wrong." Clark got up and walked over to Octavia.

"Hey what's up?" Clarke said placing her hand on Octavias upper arm. "Why did Raven leave?"

"She went home," Octavia replied looking up at Clarke with tears in her eyes.

"You're crying just because she went home?" Clarke said looking confused. "Wow, you must really like her. Its ok Octavia, it's pretty late and I'm sure she has to work or something tomorrow."

"But I just asked her to be my girlfriend. She said yes and literally 2 seconds later she just left," Octavia explained. "Why would she say yes to be my girlfriend then all of a sudden just leave. It was like she was rushing to get away from me or something."

"That is a bit strange, but maybe she stays with her parents and has a curfew or something."

"No. No she doesn't stay with her parents. She told me today." Octavia stressed. "She got a text and after she read the text, immediately left. Seriously, do you think there's someone else? Am I getting played?"

"I honestly don't know O, but from what I saw today, she seems like a cool person. But you should just talk to her about it before jumping to conclusions." Clark said.

"Yeah I guess so. I guess you're right." Octavia said.

"Come on, let's go home. It really is getting pretty late." Clark said as she put her arm around Octavias shoulders.

* * *

Raven went to the house from the text and retrieve the $600 that was required of her. When see arrived at the place that she needed to deliver the money to, instead of staying silent like she usually did, she decided to speak up.

"I need to speak to Gatz," Raven said.

"No one speaks to Gatz," said a man with a raspy voice behind the door.

"I need to speak with Gatz about inventory", Raven demanded.

"He ain't here sweet thang. I suggest you leave unless you want to make a few extra bucks giving it up for some of the men in here. You got a fine piece of ass for a cripple," the man said peeking through the mail slit in the door.

Raven really didn't have a clue what she was doing. She needed the money in order to support her family back in Cuba but at the same time she wanted to stop her illegal activity due to fear of losing Octavia. She finally had something good in her life and she didn't want to ruin it.

Then she figured that if she told the man behind the door who her father was, then maybe she'd get to talk to Gatz.

"My father was Emilio Reyes," Raven informed the man behind the door.

When the man heard who Raven was, he immediately unlocked several bolts on the door and opened it. The man was about 6 feet tall with a scarred faced that looked like it had been stabbed with a knife. His scar went from his nose all the way to his right ear. He was holding a pistol in his hand and was pointing it directly at Ravens face. He was shocked to see Raven, knowing that he was the daughter of Emilio Reyes.

"Get in here Reyes," the man said gesturing for Raven to come in with his gun.

Raven walked in the door with the gun still pointed at her head. The man would not let his guard down.

"Head to the back, Reyes," the man insisted.

As Raven walked to the back of the house, she passed up a number of different rooms. One room looked like where they counted the money and goods. It was about 4-5 people in the room counting. The next room looked like some sort of sex room. It seemed to be where men paid for sex. There was another room with a pool table fill with loud people placing bets, using crack, and drinking.

Finally Raven reached a back door that was red. The guy with the gun knocked on the door.

"Boss, you have a visitor," he said.

"I'm not taking visitors today!" Gatz yelled. "Get that thru your thick skull, Dice!

"Boss, you don't want to turn this guest away. It's Reyes' kid"

"Fine, send her end."

Raven walked into the room. It was a large office with a big desk in the middle. Gatz sat behind the desk in a black leather chair and there was another man in the corner who looked like a bodyguard. Mounted on the walls were framed guns, a framed $100 bill, and pictures of people that Raven assumed were Gatz' family.

"So what brings you here Reyes?" Gatz asked. "And please have a seat my dear."

"I um… I was wondering if I'm done. Am I done paying off the debt?"

"Reyes, Reyes, Reyes. Unfortunately for you, you've only just begun to pay off your debt." Gatz laughed.

"But, I've been doing everything you say since I was 5 years old. I've been paying off this debt for 15 years now." Raven said shakily.

"15 years is not worth 3 deaths of my men, Reyes. Your father took the lives of 3 of my men and that's worth a lifetime of debt. In fact, you're lucky I didn't kill you back then and you're lucky I don't kill you right now." Gatz threatened pulling out a gun from under his desk.

"Sir. I'm really grateful toward you for allowing me to live. But the deaths were my fathers doing sir." Raven said looking at her feet. "Not mine. I've been stealing for you at least 4-5 times each week. It's just really hard for me to keep up and the assignments have been getting harder and harder. Is there any way we can work something out?"

Gatz leaned back in his chair pondering.

"Reyes, I like you. But I hate ungrateful bitches. This is the deal. You're going to keep stealing for me 4-5 times a week, plus on the weekend you're going to come here and prostitute." Gatz said with a smile on his face. "I've always wanted you to prostitute for me but I wanted to wait until you were of the proper age. Now seems like the perfect time to start."

Ravens mouth trembled as she grabbed tightly to the arms of the chair.

"Please! Please, sir. Don't make me do it," Raven begged.

"My decision is made." Gatz announced. "Beady, show Reyes to the sex room."

Beady, the body guard in the corner, roughly grabbed Raven by the arm and pushed her toward the door.

"Wait! Wait! I can make a better offer!" Raven yelled as she struggled off the ground.

"And what offer may that be, my dear?" Gatz said relaxing in is seat while smoking a cigar.

"I work in a gun range," Raven said. She noticed that Gatz eyes widened. "I can get you guns and ammo. Please."

"Hmmmmm, that's not a bad idea Reyes." Gatz replied letting out a cloud of smoke. "Keep the guns and ammo coming and you got yourself a deal. But once the guns stop, it's off to the sex room my darling. Now scram!"

Beady pushed her out of the room and slammed the door. Raven walked back toward the entrance regretting her decision to try and reason with Gatz. She passed the sex room and stared at the old, dumpy looking men taking advantage of the women. The women looked miserable.

She continued out of the front door and got in her car. As soon as she closed the door to her car, she cried with her head on the stirring wheel, defeated.


	13. Chapter 13

When Raven woke up the next morning, the first thing she did was call Octavia.

"Raven?" Octavia said sleepily as she answered the phone.

"Octavia, hey, am I waking you up? If so I can call back when you're awake." Raven said.

"No babe. No it's fine. I need to get up anyways" Octavia yawned.

"I just really want to apologize for how I left yesterday. I know it wasn't the best way to leave, but I want you to know that I really care for you." Raven admitted.

"It's ok, I'm sure it was because of something important. Is everything ok though? Why did you have to leave so abruptly?" Octavia asked.

"I just really needed to get back home because I forgot that I have to be up early for work today." Raven lied.

"Ok. You scared me Raven. I thought you left for some other reason. I thought maybe I was rushing this relationship thing on you." Octavia explained.

"I'm so happy to be in a relationship with you. I honestly can't believe that I snagged a girl as amazing as you" Raven revealed. "You make me so happy and make me want to be a better person."

"Raven, you're already perfect, just away you are. Completely perfect." Octavia affirmed. "There's absolutely nothing that I would change about you."

Ravens heart sank. If she knew what was really going on in her life, she was sure that Octavia would not feel the same way. Raven would no longer be perfect in her eyes. Raven was torn on what to do. She wanted to tell Octavia the truth but the truth meant losing her. But lying meant hurting her.

"Octavia, I'm not the person you think I am." Raven forced herself to say. "I'm not a good person and I've done horrible things to survive."

"It's ok babe. You've had a rough past. Your dad died when you were really young and you had no one to care for you." Octavia said trying to reassure Raven.

"I really need to see you in person," Raven said. "I get off of work today at 5 PM. Would you mind meeting me somewhere?"

"I can definitely meet you. Tell me the place and I'll be there." Octavia replied sounding very concerned.

"Ok, meet me at my apartment when you get out of class," Raven said. "I'll text you my address."

"Alright, I'll head over there as soon as I'm done. I'll see you soon."

Raven hung up the phone dreading what she did. She felt 5 pm was too soon but the longer she waited, the more she'd hurt Octavia and that was the last thing she wanted to do. 'Maybe I just shouldn't be in a relationship' Raven thought to herself. 'She'd never understand…..but she does deserve the truth.'

* * *

Octavia was unable to focus in class. She sat near the back of the classroom pondering what Raven needed to tell her. Was she already in a relationship? Did she lie about her family? Is she only into men? Did I do something wrong? Was Raven ok? Did she need help?

Octavia felt as if the day was going by unusually slow. All she wanted was for 5pm to come so she could figure out what was going on. To pass the time, Octavia looked up the directions to Ravens house. It was about 20 minutes from school in a part of town that she had never been before.

When class was finally done, Octavia jumped in her car and headed off the Raven's. The neighborhood was lower-middle class that had a certain charm to it. Octavia pulled up to Ravens apartment complex and typed in the gate code to get in. She parked her car in visitors parking and walked to building 7 which was where Raven lived. The apartment was weather-beaten and looked as if it had been there for a very long time. Octavia walked up a few flights of stairs to reach the 3rd floor and paused in front of Ravens door. She lifted her hand to knock but hesitated. Apart of her wasn't ready. She was very fond of Raven and didn't want their relationship to be over before it even started.

Finally, she mustered the courage to knock on the door.

"Octavia, come in," Raven said.

Octavia stepped into Ravens apartment. It was small and cramped but it was extremely clean. The walls and ceilings were white with some of the paint peeling off. The furnishings were a bit ragged and the wooden floors creaked very loudly. There was a lot of natural light, which made the room very bright. The kitchen cabinets were jaded and there was duck tape on the refrigerator door handle. Although her apartment was very old and much of her items were very worn-out, it still had a lot of character and lure. There were pictures mounted on the wall of Raven and her Father when she was young and a few other pictures of her younger siblings.

Octavia took a seat on the tan colored sofa that sank just a tab bit too deeply as she sat. Raven sat diagonal to her in the chair across the coffee table.

"Octavia, the reason I wanted you to come here is because I wanted you to have a better idea of who I truly am." Raven explained. "You deserve anything and everything you want but you need to know that I may not be able to do that for you. I want to provide you with a lavish life filled with vacations to Europe, private yachts, and shopping sprees. But I just don't know if I can."

"Raven, I don't care about any of that. I just care about you. We could live in a box together on the streets and I'd still care for you." Octavia stressed. "I don't care that you don't have a lot of money."

Raven looked at Octavia with tears in her eyes.

"Whats wrong?" Octavia said, pulling Raven to the couch where she sat.

"There are….things that I do, that would…turn you away." Raven managed to say. "If you don't want to be with me because of it, then I completely understand. I'm just not a great person to be with because of…."

"What is it?" Octavia asked wiping Ravens tears away.

"I..I work for Gatz Malone. The leader..of..of the Death Cold gang." Raven finally said.

Octavias mouth drop. She knew all about the Death Cold gang from the news. They were constantly on the news and were notorious for selling drugs, prostitution and stealing millions of dollars per year.

"Wha…What?" Octavia was in shock. "Why? Why are you working with such a violent gang?"

"I have to. When my father and I first moved here, he got caught up in the gang life because it was fast and easy money. He sold drugs for the DroughDo gang. Everything was great at first. We had a great apartment in Uptown and everything we needed." Raven said as a few more tears fell down her face. "But then my dad got caught up in a drive-by as he drove a truck that was filled with drugs. The truck had 2.5 million dollars worth of drugs. During the drive-by, the truck was stolen by the Death Cold gang. The leader of the DroughDo gang was furious. He threatened to take my dads life and my life unless he killed 3 men from the Death Cold gang."

Octavia held Ravens hand and rubbed her back to comfort her.

"My dad cared for me so much and the only reason he did it was for me. He didn't want me to die. So he killed three people….Life was still ok for about a month. But soon, Death Cold found out who did it. They ransacked our house and shot my father right in the head…and…then …they took me and told me that the only way that they would let me live was if I worked for them in order to to pay off my fathers debt." Raven put her face in her hands. "I've been working for them ever since."

Octavia pulled Raven into a tight hug as she became teary eyes herself. Octavia was at a loss for words. She could barely fathom what she just heard since it was one of the most devastating things she had ever heard.

"I understand if this is too much for you to handle," Raven said looking up at Octavia. "Maybe we can be together in the future, when I figure out a way to get out of this mess. You don't deserve this Octavia. You don't deserve to be with someone who's future is unknown. You don't deserve to be living in fear because of me."

"I'm not afraid of my future because I know that I'm going to be with you." Octavia said. "I know you think that I want to leave you but I don't. We have such a strong connection and I've never had that with anyone before. A part of me knew that you were meant to be in my life since we were 5 years old. I'm not leaving you. I'm never leaving you."

Octavia placed a kiss on Ravens cheek. She didn't know why, but she was not afraid. All she wanted to do was to make Raven stop crying and come up with a plan to get Raven out this horrible situation.


	14. Chapter 14

About a month had passed since Raven came clean to Octavia about her secret.

Surprisingly, things were going well between Raven and Octavia. Raven managed to supply the gang with enough guns and ammo for them to leave her alone. Raven was still getting text messages about homes to steal from but she was so used to it that it didn't bother her much.

Octavia always asked and offered to help Raven do what she needed to do for the gang. However, Raven would always say no since she didn't want Octavia to get in trouble with the law. She also didn't want Octavia to get caught up in the gang lifestyle.

Doing the crimes that were asked of the gang took up a lot of Ravens time. Every time Raven left to do a "mission", Octavia felt that her time with Rave was cut short. That was one of the reasons Octavia always wanted to go with Raven on the missions. She also wanted to go so that she could be sure that Raven was safe. It was very frustrating for Octavia to see her girlfriend leave and be gone for hours at a time without knowing whether or not she'd safely return.

Eventually, Octavia picked up a part-time job in order to start saving money for both her and Raven. She got a job at a local spa as a receptionist.

"Here Raven, I want you to use this paycheck to send money back to your family in Cuba." Octavia said, handing her the cash.

"Octavia, baby this is your money. I can't just take your money." Raven explained. "You worked hard for that pay check. Now go splurge on yourself and buy something nice."

"Nope. If you won't give it to your family now, then it's going straight to the savings account so that you can give it to them later." Octavia said kissing Raven on the cheek.

"I don't deserve you," Raven said. "I really don't."

Raven pulled Octavia into her lap and wrapped her arms around her. Octavia put her arms around her shoulders.

The girls sat in Ravens apartment. Octavia was there at least 4-5 days a week when she didn't have any major exams coming up.

She pressed her lips against Ravens for a loving kiss. Raven melted in her seat. Octavia turned and lay Raven on the couch without breaking the kiss. She lay on top of Raven, positioning her thigh between her legs. Raven let out a moan as Octavia started to grind her thigh into her core.

Octavia looked at her girlfriend as she moaned beneath her and felt that she had never seen someone so beautiful in her life.

Octavia started to unbutton Ravens shirt as she continued to grind. Ravens breast were exposed and her girlfriend took a moment to soak in the beautiful sight. She bent down and captured a nipple in her mouth.

"Baby!" Raven breathe. Ravens core was dripping wet. Her wetness soaked through her panties, soaked through her jeans and Octavias jeans started to become wet from Ravens juices.

Feeling Raven soak her jeans started to push Octavia over the edge. She could feel an orgasm starting to emerge and wanted so badly to take off Ravens pants to feel her girlfriend better. However, she didn't want to rush Raven since she knew that she was still a virgin.

Raven reached down and unbuckled her own pants.

"Octavia, please. Take them off," Raven pleaded, wanting closer contact with Octavia.

"Are you sure?" Octavia whispered.

"Yes, O. Yes!" Raven moaned.

Octavia quickly took off Ravens pants and took off her own as well. She reached back down to take off Ravens panties when suddenly, Ravens phone loudly went off.

Raven didn't want to look at the phone but she knew she had to. She looked at the text dreading what it would say.

"Please don't go!" Octavia pleaded. She grabbed Ravens phone and put it back on the coffee stable. "Stay here with me."

"I can't Octavia. I'm sorry," Raven said sitting up on the couch. "If I don't finish the task within a certain time frame, there will be trouble."

Raven went to her room, took off her soaking wet panties, quickly cleaned up and put on new clothes.

She put her phone in her pocket and gave Octavia one last kiss before she left.

"I'll be back as soon as I can ok?"

Octavia sadly nodded and Raven rushed out the door.

Still wearing her soaked panties, Octavia walked into Ravens room and saw her wet underwear laying on the floor. She picked them up and used her free hand to reach to her core and rub her clit.

She then lay in Ravens bed to finish herself off. However, when she was done, the only thing she felt was frustration.


End file.
